Lonely pets’ brain cells are dying from boredom

A lack of stimulation can even make animals’ brains shrink, researchers foundALAMY

Pet owners are subjecting millions of animals in Britain to the subtlest form of cruelty — lifelong boredom, scientists have warned.

They have found that animals including dogs, cattle and those kept in zoos become desperate with boredom — and that the lack of stimulation can even make their brains shrink.

Researchers used cameras to monitor dogs left alone in houses. “They often yawn, bark, howl and whine. Some sleep a lot — a sign of apathy. Some of this is anxiety but often they are just really bored,” said Charlotte Burn, senior lecturer in animal welfare at the Royal Veterinary College in Hertfordshire, whose research on “bestial boredom” appears in Animal Behaviour, a journal.